The Real Deal New York

Tenants allege age discrimination at Upper West Side building

Stonehenge bars rent-regulated tenants from building's gym; majority of those residents are seniors

August 21, 2014 01:05PM

Tenants of an Upper West Side mixed-income building allege the landlord is discriminating against the elderly by barring low-income residents from using the property’s on-site gym.

The battle broke out earlier this year after Stonehenge Partners reserved the gym at Stonehenge Village at 135 West 96th Street strictly for market-rate tenants. In an update to an earlier complaint cited by DNAinfo, 74-year-old tenant association president Jean Dorsey said 66 percent of rent-regulated residents at Stonehenge Village are 65 or older, while just 5 percent of wealthier tenants fall in that demographic.

Public Advocate Letitia James filed a separate complaint in February, in which she said the owners “were fully aware that those tenants who are subject to stabilization are long-term tenants who [are] more likely to be elderly,” according to the website.

Stonehenge denied discrimination in a response to the earlier complaint, but has not yet responded to the latest charges.